Ok. I go get my oil changed at nissan. Yeah I know I should do it myself but dont have time with finals the next 3 weeks. Well I went in and asked about advancing the timing to +2 from 15. He said its gonna cost 75 dollars to hook the consult II up and then a hour or more to reprogram the whole ECU. I was like whoa... I didnt think u had to reprogram the whole ECU. I had a flat out arguement with the service writter. He says that u have to clear out the whole ECU programming and change it to have the timing stick.... I said that it should be farily easily to change with a few button on the consult II. I havnet heard of and ECU being totally wiped out and reprogrammed. He said that u can NOT just change it without doing what he said. I told him that people had done it and it stuck. He would believe me and said. I'll do what u tell me to do, but It will be 75 dollars to hook it up. and then labor.... I was like um... Just give the the friggin oil change. Everyone else I hear has been getting a hookup to a consult for a few dollars or free on many occasions. I figured since I am in they may do it. WEll I am gonna go to another Nissan dealership and get my alignment done, and ask there.....
Was the service writer wrong?

 

Yes. You can reset the ECU in about 2 mins flat. And the changes take all of about 4 mins to make... if the tech is slow. So ignore that service writer and his $75 money-making self. That's over 1 hour of labor too, since the published rate is something like $62.50 per hour according to SAE.

 

How do you reset the ECU on a 2000 SE??????!

 

studman, so how much did you end up paying for just the ECU re-program?


~limsandy

 

i cant see paying more than half an hour labor. i paid 20 bucks at a local nissan specific shop that bought the consult from nissan. they let me play with it for a while. i advanced the timing and bumped my idle up a little. there was a section for air/fuel settings but it wouldnt let me access it. i think it would take about 5 mins tops. that includes driving the car in and hooking it up.

 

Hey Sloppymax. u sound like u know exactly what to do. Would u or someone else mind typing up a short detailed summary of what to do with the consult-II to advance the timing so if I do take it in I can show them how its done rather than having them erase the whole ecu and rewrite it. Did u turn off the car and back on to make sure it was staying at 17 degrees

 

Nothing. The warranty paid for the TSB to be done. My MAF didn't qualify for the TSB, but the ECU did. So they replaced the MAF and reprogrammed the ECU per the TSB's instructions.

 

i wouldnt mind do a write up, but i would need to go back out the shop and have it in my hand. going through the menus was easy but i cant remember off hand how it was broken down. ill get up with blu and see if he remembers because we went to the same place and both of us were allowed to do it ourselves.

 

sorry for the dumb question but what does advancing timing do?

 

Studman is right, once your car is at normal operating temp. advancing the timing takes literally 2 minutes. I stood there as the tech hooked up the Consult, pressed a few buttons, and presto, it was done. Most people or the org have had it done for free or for 1/2 hr labor.

 

I guess the next question is---does anyone notice a difference in only 2 degrees of timing advance??? Any knocking issues after?

 

ive have not had knocking and i went from fluctuating between 14-15 to 17 btdc. its not a huge difference but you can feel a small bump in the low end. it seems i have to push the car less to get it rolling. just make sure you use at least 91 octance because you could have some nice detonation with the timing advance and using a lower octane even though they recommend premium from the start.

 

That's good to hear. Hmmmm I only use 93 octane.....wonder if I can go higher than 17...... Guess it's time to befriend a Nissan Tech.

 

Many Nissan techs and service writers have no clue this can be done and just how easy it is to do. I got mine done for free and it only took the guy about 2 mins to do it and he had never done any before. This was right after Stereodude (i think) first reported it.
The next time I go back I'll take the camera.

To answer your question, yes your service writer is wrong. And anyone who claims a voided warranty is wrong. The ECU absolutely will NOT let you exceed the Nissan specs. or +2° or -2º.

 

Hmmmm thought just popped into my head. Got a friend that's a Caddy tech at the local Caddilac/Infiniti dealer. I spose the Infiniti shop would have the Consult II. Bet he knows someone over there.........hmmmmmmmmmm time to call in a favor.

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....1&pagenumber=2

 

I have a couple of questions. As I'm at the start of trying to understand how the ECU works I have a few basic thoughts please correct me if I'm wrong.

When the base timing is set this is only at idle once you apply gas the timing changes mostly retarded, at times as high as -40 or more, so any changing of the timing is only going to help the initial start of accelerating.

When the car is in open loop at WOT does the ECU switch back to the base timing or does it get changed like in closed loop?

While I was driving the car with a Snap-On scanner, that only takes snap shots it's not able to store runs, I was keeping my eye on the timing but I didn't do a WOT run. I kept my eyes on the road then as I was in traffic. After comming to a stop it took 10-20 seconds for the timing to return to 15 deg.

 

cool thanks for the link...

 

Just got my timing advanced this afternoon- I had been discussing it with one of our top techs, he said on some '00s the timing can't be adjusted- We put my car on the Consult (mine is 06/00), and first it said the timing could not be adjusted, we turned the car off/on a few times & let it idle for about 5 minutes & it finally took. The consult advanced it 2 dergrees up to 17 BTDC, it works! The un-official butt dyno says 5 hp! I've got pics of both Consult tapes, if anyone is having trouble getting their timing advanced , I could certainly e-mail them to you!

 

DAVE:
Has your dealership done many of the NTB03-022 & NTB03-023 TSB"S yet?

 

We have done 2 of them- They were both '03 6-speeds, so no MAF!

 

Dave it would be easier for you than me to do the How To writeup for the Consult-II timing advance. I guess just take pictures of it frame by frame if only to help those that need to offer proof to their own service departments.

I too have pictures of my ticker tapes but I don't think thats enough.

 

Dave if u can do this that would be awesome. That way I can go in and show them and it be, hopefully, hassel free.

 

DaveB: If you need a place to host the pics, I'll do it for you.

Also, if you have the hood rattle TSB for the 2002+, can you send it over as well.

 

Is time advancing going to void my warranty? 15+2

 

SR20DEN or DAVEB could either of you answer my questions above. I really like to know what the timing defualts to in open loop.
Thanks,
Adam

 

No.

 

If the timing can only be adjusted -2 or +2 why does the service manual say that the timing can be + or -5 from 15?

 

I'll get them both to you- Is there a # I can fax the TSB to?

 

If I remember correctly I believe the 00-01's are +2/-2 and the 02-03's are +5/-5. That may be the source of the confusion.

 

The Nissan Consult-II will NOT let you go more than +2º on a 2002 or 2003 Maxima. The ESM may say something else but +2º is it.

 

What if you did this?

BTW, I believe it is possible to advance the timing further, but it will require performing an "Idle Air Volume Learning" procedure once it's set at +3*. I believe you can then go to +5*, which is still within spec. Just an idea.

Idle Air Volume Learning Procedure:
-----------------------------------
Pre-conditioning
1)Battery voltage > 12.9V(At idle)
2)Engine coolant temp: 70-99*C(158-210*F)
3)PNP switch = ON
4)Electric load switch = OFF(air conditioner, headlamp, rear window defogger)
5)Cooling fan motor = OFF
6)Steering wheel = Neutral(straight-ahead position)
7)Vehicle speed = stopped(no duuuuh!)
8)Transmission = warmed-up(A/T drive until "Fluid temp SE" in "Data Monitor" mode of "A/T" system indicates < 0.9V.(M/T drive for 10mins.)

Operation Procedure
1)Turn ignition switch "ON" and wait at least 1-second.
2)Turn ignition switch "OFF" and wait at least 10-seconds.
3)Start engine and warm it up to normal operating temperature.
4)Check that all the items under "Pre-Conditioning" are correct.
5)Turn ignition switch to "OFF" and wait 10-seconds.
6)Start the engine and let idle for at least 30-seconds.
7)Select "IDLE AIR VOL LEARN" in "WORK SUPPORT" mode.
8)Touch "START" and wait 20-seconds.
9)Make sure that "CMPLT" is displayed on CONSULT-II screen. If "INCMP" is displayed, "Idle Air Volume Learning" will NOT be successful.
10)Rev up the engine two or three times. Make sure that idle speed and ignition timing are within spec..

Spec:
Idle Speed - M/T: 625+/-50rpm, A/T: 700+/-50rpm(in Park or Neutral)
Ignition Timing - M/T: 15*+/-5* BTDC, A/T: 15*+/-5* BTDC(in Park or Neutral)

Above is courtesy of ICEY2K1

 

That's not true. I had to go +3º in order to reach 17º BTDC. I was originally at 14º. I've got the Consult-II printout to prove it.

You don't have to reset the Idle Air Volume. The ECU takes about a day to learn the new settings. I didn't really feel the power until the following day. Then the car pulled like it has never pulled before.

 

Thanks SR20DEN

 

It is true because the specification for the base timing is 15º BTDC. However since the cars are sold at 14º BTDC that will allow you to go +3º. Therefore the cars come retarded 1º from spec. 17º minus the 15º leaves only 2º of advance.



Perhaps thats where the 5º confusion came into play because there is a total 5º sweep of the settings. (13, 14, 15, 16 and 17)

 

Hey I am all for that if it will work. Can anyone prove/ disprove this?

 

You "can" go higher, but it will no longer be within Nissan specs...

 

i had mine bumped up 3 degrees on my 2000 today for no cost. The mechanic said i am running at 19 or 20 degrees now and OMG THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS SMOOTH!!!

 

Absolutely right. My timing was at 14.

 

Ok guys, got one for you to debate over:

Just talked to my friend (Caddy tech) that works with Infiniti techs. I had him check into doing the advance on my car. Infiniti tech has an '01 Max that says he tried this on his, but the changes wouldn't stick---they revert back to factory settings when the Consult is disconnected.

Someone tell me this isn't accurate (please!) I am meeting up with them tomorrow to try this on mine and see what happens.

Anyone have verbal instructions on how to "drive" the Consult II? Anything might help since I will prolly be doing it myself.

Steve